RALEIGH, N.C., November 19, 2008 – The fourth quarter FMI Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) survey was conducted as the financial crisis moved from Wall Street to Main Street. The results of this quarterly survey of construction industry executives show the effects of the troubled financial markets now spilling over to the nonresidential construction sector. The NRCI dropped 10.6 points to 34.1 since the third quarter. Panelists also indicated they expect significant declines in municipal construction budgets due to financing difficulties and reduced tax receipts for 2009. Uncertainty in the markets and further delays and cancellations will mean lower revenues for contractors working in the nonresidential construction sector for 2009.

NRCI Fourth Quarter 2008 Highlights:

• Eighty-five percent of panelists reported the overall economy as worse than last quarter.


• Seventy-one percent of panelists agreed that the economy in their geographic regions was worse than last quarter, an indication that there are few corners of the country now bucking the national economic trends.


• Until the fourth quarter, panelists’ business looked better than the national and regional business scenes. As of Q. 4, only 4.6% said their business has improved over last quarter.


• The “cost of materials” component of the NRCI made a significant improvement to move the component score above the neutral range of 50.0 to 53.4 signaling lower material costs for the near term.